George henry brown



(ModeL) G. H. BROWN.

BERRY BASKET. W No. 423,412. Patented Mar. 18, 1890;

I am y g o r /fljjmw UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

GEORGE HENRY BROYVN, OF PORTSMOUTH, VIRGINIA, ASSIGNOR TO ELIZABETH BROWN, OF SAME PLACE.

BERRY-BASKET.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 423,412, dated March 18, 1890.

Application filed April 8, 1889- Serial No. 306,409. (Modeh) To 60% whom it may concern.-

Be it. known that I, GEORGE HENRY BROWN, a citizen of the United States, residing at Portsmouth, in the county of Norfolk and State of Virginia, have invented a new and useful Berry-Basket, of which the following is a specification.

The invention relates to improvements in berry-baskets.

Heretofore berry-baskets have been constructed with the sides and bottom composed of pieces of veneer crossed in the middle to provide a seamless bottom; but difficultyhas been experienced with these baskets and similar ones having a number of edges in keeping the fruit from being bruised.

The object of the present invention is to obviate the above objection and prevent the berries being cut by the edges of the veneer composing the basket.

The invention consists in the construction and novel combination and arrangement of parts, hereinafter fully described, illustrated in the accompanying drawings, and pointed out in the claim hereto appended.

In the drawings, Figure 1 is a perspective view of a berry-basket constructed in accordance with this invention. Fig. 2 is a central vertical sectional view. Fig. 3 is a plan view of the veneer forming the bottom and sides of the basket. Fig. 4 is a horizontal sectional view on the line 00 0c of Fig. 2.

Referring to the accompanying drawings by letter, A designates a berry-basket consisting of two blanks A of veneer, which are crossed to provide ends a beyond the bottom turned up to form the sides, which are bulged laterally until their upper edges or tops are curved, and they are secured together and their curved form preserved by strips or bands B, which are fastened by centrally-disposed and vertically-arranged wire staples 0 around the upper edgeof the basket upon the inside and outside thereof. The sides a of the basket are provided with vertical ventilating-slits a, which enable the sides to be bulged with facility, and are formed byknifecuts when the material is green. The basket is made and all the vertical edges of the ventilating-slits are turned out while the wood is green, as shown at e in Fig. 4, and it is then allowed to dry, and the shrinkage of the wood, when formed and confined by the strips or bands B and the vertically-arianged. wire stap] es, prevents the veneer uneurling, and thus tends to preserve the berries from bruises and to afford a perfect vent. The vertical edges do not curl so well when the vents are sawed in or pieces are cut out of the veneer. The corners of the basket A are rounded and the sides bulged, and when the baskets are packed in a crate they crpwd one another,

and their rounded corners and bulging sides give them a certain amount of spring, which makes them fit tightly in the crate and break the jars caused by rough handling. This bulging of the sides a is facilitated by the ventilating-slits a and the manner of securing the bands B, the wire staples 0 being one on each side of the ventilating-slits and passing through the wood vertically, in order not to retard the curving of the side or the slight curling of the edges of the slits.

hat I claim is- A berry-baskethaving rounded corners and bulging sides and composed of two similar pieces of veneer crossed at the bottom and having their ends turned up to form the sides of the basket, and split at the sides to provide vents, said pieces of veneer having all the vertical edges of the ventilatingslits turned outward, and bands secured to the top of the basket on each side of the veneer, substantially as described.

In testimony that I claim the foregoing as my own I have hereto affixed my signature in presence of two witnesses.

GEORGE HENRY BROWN. Vitnesses:

WILLIAM ZIEGENHAIN, JNo. BENNETT. 

